Beauty
by BioChick
Summary: A remake of the popular fairytale 'Beauty and the Beast,' "Beauty" shows the true intentions of two young hearts as she searches for love and he searches for a way to break the curse.
1. Prologue

Beauty Prologue 

Deep in the woods in the middle of Japan, a castle looms against the horizon. A crash of thunder and a crack of lightning lights up the forest, scattering the animals and demons.

An old woman stumbles down the path, drenched to the bone because of the rain. She comes to a gate, barring her way to the castle and possible shelter. Pushing against the massive frame, she slid through.

She made her way between the rows of statues to stand in front of the door. Taking her cane, she rapped on the immense door.

Slowly, the door creaked open. A young man, the prince of the castle, stood there.

"Please, my Lord," she began. "I am cold and wet. May I take shelter in your castle until the rain stops? In return, I will give you this rose." Lifting her gnarled hand, she took a beautiful red rose from her cloak. The prince recoiled away from her, repulsed by her haggard appearance.

"Never!" the prince snapped, slapping her hand away.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Please, my Lord! I am begging you!"

The prince once again slapped her outstretched hand. "No way in hell am I going to give shelter to _you_, you old hag! Now, get out of my castle!"

He turned around to shut the door, but a hand grasped his shoulder.

"You should not trust what your eyes tell you, young hanyou. For a rose always has thorns."

A flash of light caught the prince's attention as he turned around again. In the place of the old woman, a beautiful enchantress stood.

The prince, awed by her beauty, began to bag and plead with her to stay in the castle with him. The enchantress, however, refused his offer.

"I am the priestess Kikyou, and because there is no love in you heart, I place this curse on you and al the people who live here!" With a wave of her hand, the priestess had put a curse on the castle, turning the young prince into a horrible beast.

The rose she had offered was an enchanted flower, its power shining. "This rose will bloom for fifty years and when that time is up, the rose will die. If you do not find love and have that love returned to you by the time the rose dies, all will die."

With that statement, the enchantress disappeared. The prince, horrified by his appearance, locked himself in the castle, with a magical mirror as his only portal to the outside world.

That night, all the people in the county heard the wailing cry of the massive dog demon.


	2. Chapter 1

Beauty- Chapter 1 

With a snap, the book closed.

"Done!" the young woman squealed happily. She picked up her basket, placed the book inside and strolled out of the door.

She blinked as her eyes came in contact with the blinding sun. Humming a tune, the woman walked into the village.

"Hello Kagome!" a man said.

The woman turned at the sound of her mane and smiled. Waving at the baker, she replied, "Hello! How are you?"

The baker smiled and answered her with a grunt.

Kagome skipped over to show him the book she had just finished. ". . . and it has a tower and an ogre!"

The baker nodded. "Good. Where are my breadsticks!"

Kagome shook her head and resumed her walk through town. She was used to people not being interested in the books she liked. Greeting other random people, she hopped on the back of a horse-drawn carriage, jumping off when she reached the library.

"Good-day Kagome!" the librarian greeted.

"Good-day! I have come to return the book that I borrowed." Kagome handed it over and climbed the book ladder, scanning the shelves.

The old librarian shook his head. "Finished already?"

Kagome smiled. "Yep! It was so good," she paused as a red book caught her attention. "I just couldn't put it down!" she finished.

"I think, I will borrow . . . this one!" Kagome pulled out a dusty book with a brown cover.

The librarian eyed it. "This one? But you have already read it twice!"

Kagome giggled. "I know, but it is my favorite book! Action, adventures and romance! How could it go wrong?"  
Well, if you like it that much, you can keep it."

Kagome gasped, her eyes open wide. "Are . . . are you serious?"

The librarian nodded and laughed as Kagome squealed and skipped into the street.

Kagome stuck her nose into the book, completely oblivious to the people whispering around her.

Off in the distance, a shot was heard and a bird fell from the sky. A lone wolf demon scurried up to grab it.

Running back to his leader, the wolf said, "Great shot Koga! You strike so hard that a sound is heard!"

The leader cracked his knuckles and smirked. "You know Ginta, I think that it is time for me to get a mate?

"Isn't that sort of sudden?" Ginta asked.

Koga chuckled. "Why of course! And that will be the surprise!" he walked off, cackling madly.

Ginta followed warily, not quite sure what Koga had planned.

Kagome, meanwhile, was picking up odds and ends for her grandfather. He was the village inventor (and crackpot) and he was going to the Inventor's Fair that week with his new invention, a machine that would cut down any demon that it came across.

Munching on an apple, Kagome thought to herself. 'He will get money. I could get out of this village! That would be amazing!'

She was so engulfed in the thoughts that she didn't notice the whirlwind rushing to her. It stopped in front of her and the dust died down enough to reveal Koga.

"Good morning Kagome! How are you today?" he asked, picking up the book from her basket.

" . . . and oil the pickles for the purple cat . . ." she murmured. She walked past the stunned wolf, plucking her book from his hands as she passed.

Koga blinked. "Hey wait Kagome!" he shouted belatedly. Running after her, a large crowd noticed their distress and went to conveniently block the way for Koga.

"Hey people, move!" Koga shouted desperately, but the command fell on deaf ears. Frustrated, Koga used his demon strength to jump onto a roof of a hut that was next to the street.

Koga jumped from roof to roof and finally landed in front of Kagome. He gave her a dazzling smile that would have made other girls melt. Kagome was no ordinary girl, however. "Hello Kagome!"

Kagome smiled. "Hey Koga. Do you need something?" To herself, she added, 'Can't you take a hint? I don't want to talk to you!'

"I would actually like to have your love! Although, I bet I already have it!" he laughed and Kagome blinked. "Come, I will show you my den with all my trophies!" Koga grabbed her arm and led her away.

Kagome was not one to be ordered around, though. She pulled her arm out of his grasp and walked the other way.

"Maybe later, I have to get home . . ." she threw over her shoulder.

Koga moved fast to block her way. 'Damn demon speed!' she thought. Koga was still blabbing on about all his trophies and how honored she is to have this opportunity and blah, blah, blah.

Kagome sighed and rubbed her head. "Koga! I need to get home!"

Koga paused after the outburst. "Oh, alright then! Why didn't you say so?" He saw the book in Kagome's basket as she face faulted and snatched it up.

"Give that back! Koga!" Kagome cried.

Koga flipped through the pages, frowning. "How can you read this? There are no pictures!"

Kagome sighed. "_Some_ people use their imagination."

"That's dangerous!" Koga scolded, throwing the book over his shoulder. "Such a pretty head as yours shouldn't strain itself with silly past-times like reading."

Kagome bent over, gingerly picking up the book out of the mud. Wiping it on her skirt, Kagome rolled her eyes.

"I will remember that. Thanks for your concern," she responded dryly. Ginta chose that moment to race alongside them.

"Hello Miss Kagome!" he greeted.

She nodded. "Now excuse me, but I need to go help my grandfather."

"What! That crackpot? He needs all the help he can get!" Ginta laughed. Koga laughed too, bending over holding his stomach.

Kagome glared at them. "My grandfather is _not _crazy! He is a genius!"

Koga coughed and hit his pack-mate on the head. "Yeah Ginta! He is _not_ crazy!"

Suddenly, from a hut up on the tallest hill, a large explosion was heard and black smoke poured out from the windows.

"Grandpa!" Kagome gasped as she ran off.

As soon as she was out of hearing range, Koga and Ginta started laughing again.

"Mark my words, Ginta," Koga glanced over at Ginta. "You're not marking . . ."

Ginta scurried to get some ink and parchment.

"Mark my words, I _will_ have Kagome as my wife!" Koga declared.

They laughed and joked as they headed to the village pub.

* * *

Hello! This is the first installment of the story 'Beauty' coming to computers near you! . . . right then! Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine, along with Kagome Koga, Ginta, Grandpa, and all other characters. The idea I got from the story on FFNet 'Beast' and I recommend it to you all! However, though the idea for the story is from 'Beast,' the plotline is mine and all mine! I am NOT plagerizing! I just got the IDEA to do this type of story! No resemblance to the plotline of 'Beast' whatsoever! So thank you and enjoy reading 'Beauty!' 


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